What does this clip from the Attack on Titan opening remind me of?

September 6, 2021 8:51 AM

In the opening bit for the final season of Attack on Titan, there's a section that shows soldiers marching in formation. It reminds me of something but I can't quite place it. Any suggestions? I'm thinking a video from Nine Inch Nails or something like that, from the early 1990s.

It's the section starting at about 40 seconds in.

posted by The corpse in the library to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

Are you thinking of The Wall?
https://youtu.be/JGVFoBRh3LQ?t=16
posted by MythMaker at 8:57 AM on September 6, 2021 [2 favorites]

It reminds me of the video for Pet Shop Boys, Go West.
posted by Orlop at 9:05 AM on September 6, 2021

Do the Evolution by Pearl Jam, about 53 seconds in.
posted by rollick at 9:13 AM on September 6, 2021

Best answer: Although the real answer is that it's a direct lift of Nazis goose stepping from Triumph of the Will. Here's the relevant shot in a period parody:
https://youtu.be/9RRGgsfYUdw?t=31
posted by MythMaker at 9:39 AM on September 6, 2021 [6 favorites]

Or for something a little more up to date, from the Chinese Peoples' Republic 70th anniversary parade. in 2019.
posted by Rash at 9:52 AM on September 6, 2021

Stylistically perhaps the rotoscoped battle scenes toward the end of Wizards?
posted by bassomatic at 9:54 AM on September 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

Damn bassomatic. Wizards is exactly what I was thinking.
posted by zengargoyle at 10:02 AM on September 6, 2021 [1 favorite]

It's a callback to the nazis. One of the more common recent homages is in the animated Lion King during Be Prepared.
posted by past unusual at 10:03 AM on September 6, 2021

Response by poster: I think it must have been The Triumph of The Will footage, but used in a music video. So the answer is solved but possibly could be solved even more.
posted by The corpse in the library at 11:59 AM on September 6, 2021

Not exact, but Living Colour's Cult of Personality?
posted by praemunire at 12:09 PM on September 6, 2021

...but I don't think that's Triumph of the Will. There's something about their body and rifle positioning, and marching that suggests a Soviet influence. If anything, that doesn't look like classic goose stepping. Nevertheless, I concur it's taken from some archival footage but I can't find a better match.
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 3:15 PM on September 6, 2021

Yeah, I think you're right about that, DeepSeaHaggis, it's just that it's the kind of brief clip in a video that might stick in your head, from roughly the right time period and a band who you might mentally slot into a similar category. If you read a lot of them, these "does anyone remember..."-type questions are a fascinating study in the malleability of our memories!
posted by praemunire at 4:43 PM on September 6, 2021